It’s Here
by TheWriterGirl14
Summary: Star Butterfly wasn’t—isn’t— a normal girl, she’s weird and has few to no friends. She often hangs out by herself reading comic books under her favorite tree—and imagining the end of the world. But, despite constantly thinking about it, she’s surprised to see it unfold one night. An apocalypse. An actual apocalypse. With a friend she’ll regret making: Marco Diaz. “I...i’m sorry...”
1. Prologue

**_A/N: This is an idea I've had in my head for a long time and I recently found the courage and time to make it a reality. This was really fun to think through and imagine and I hope you all stick around to read it. It means a lot._**

 ** _Anyway, before I get carried away, I hope you all enjoy this lil' start to a new story! It'll be a ride, let me tell you._**

 ** _-TheWriterGirl_**

Star Butterfly was a normal girl.

Scratch that, actually.

She was a weird girl with heart stickers on her cheeks that often were peeling from old age. She was a girl with a backpack full of comic books and notebooks that had pages after pages of drawings that only she understood.

She was fifteen and still loved imagining worlds of magic and evil, where she was the one rescuing others and beating the living crap out of monsters; it made her happy knowing she might be useful one day.

She didn't have low self-esteem, no, that was crazy, she just liked keeping things low for when the big day arrived. The big day in which she would fight against the forces of evil.

Her mother had sat her down several times to explain to her that the world did not have monsters or evil doings or even incidents that would trigger possible danger. Like an apocalypse of some kind.

Star knew better.

She often sat under a tree, reading novels and comic books from her backpack—it looked like a spikey turtle shell, it was awesome—detailing dystopian worlds and zombies and she knew it was bound to happen one day. Earth was a place where anything and everything was possible, denying the possibility of an apocalypse or a rise-up of evil was stupid. But, of course, no one believed her. Why would they?

Her father sometimes supported her ideas eagerly and made various plans on where to hide if the apocalypse was to happen. Star would correct him that not if, but when it would happen. Her mother would glare at her father and he would sheepishly drop all plans and tell Star that monsters weren't real.

She didn't have many real, loyal allies.

At her high school, most kids would ignore her. Though, sometimes, a girl with a nice beanie joined her but then would mysteriously disappear the next day. She didn't even know her name.

 _I think it's Janna._

Janna was cool. Janna believed her and her theories and even had some of her own. She was cool. Unlike that Tom boy who faked believing her and helping just to get close to her for some sick joke.

 _Dude, you should date that weird girl, Star._

Star didn't like remembering him.

So Star sat under her tree in the school's courtyard reading her graphic novel, well, she was half-reading it. Her mind was elsewhere, floating over the topic of lunch which was next period. With her free period before lunch, she often spent it outside doing whatever she was interested in doing that day.

The sky was a pleasant color above her and the sun was big and golden.

 _No signs of an apocalypse today._

 _Yay!_

Star dug her nose deeper into her comic book when kids passed by, she didn't like hearing their snarky comments or seeing them point and snicker.

She flipped a page and stared at the dark-colored pictures of a man running through a broken city. In her opinion, he shouldn't be running, it could attract unwanted attention; Star rolled her eyes slightly at the play-out of the scene.

 _Poor Steve, hope he survives._

"Excuse me?" Star hunched over as a boy's voice hit her ears. She sighed and looked up to see a boy her age, his dark skin was coated in sweat and his brown hair was disheveled as if he had been running. He was wringing his hands as he stared at her.

Star blinked sluggishly, barely processing him, "Yes?"

His eyes darted to her comic book and he furrowed his brows, "Sorry if I'm interrupting b-but have you seen my backpack? And hoodie? It's red, this girl thought it was funny to take them." He was clearly annoyed at the girl who had stolen his stuff.

Red hoodie and backpack.

Star rubbed her chin and brightened suddenly like a lightbulb.

She pointed to her tree behind her, "They're up there. Janna came by earlier and put them there…" her voice trailed off as she realized what Janna had been doing. "Janna, you scoundrel." She muttered under her breath, deciding to give her a stern talking to the next time she saw her.

The boy peered up at the tree and made a sound of distress, "Ugh! How am I supposed to get to it?! I can't climb! That's dangerous...I should get a ladder, but that could have some potential trouble, too. Maybe I should ask the janitor to help me." He fell into thought and Star glanced up at the tree's branches.

She put her comic book in her backpack and stood up, "I can get them for you." She said easily, stretching her arms and shaking them to ready herself.

The boy blanched, "Oh, no! You could get hurt, it's okay—"

But Star was already on the tree, climbing it. She was good at climbing, her dad had often showed her how to survive in the wilderness and with that came climbing lessons.

She grabbed a branch and pulled herself up to it, she hoped it wouldn't break under her weight or anything. That would be embarrassing.

"Is everything okay?" The boy's voice squeaked below her, clearly worried. It was funny how he was worried when they were complete strangers to one another in this world.

"Yep! It's all cool!" She jumped onto another branch and balanced herself with her arms. She looked down at the boy and realized something, she cupped her mouth and shouted, "What's your name anyway, dude?" She needed to know his name if she was climbing a tree for him.

The boy cupped his mouth, his hands went around his mouth, and he loudly said, "Marco Diaz! What's yours?"

Star swung up to another branch and rested there for a moment, seeing which way was better to get to the hoodie and backpack. "Star Butterfly! _NICE TO MEET YOU_!" She yelled back before climbing again.

"Ohhhhh, so you're the Star Butterfly I keep hearing about!" He mentioned, his voice full with recognition.

"Yep!" Star said as she got on a perfect branch and extended her hand toward where Marco's stuff hung; she reached them and hugged them to her chest. "Got them!" She told Marco as she made her way back down.

Marco let out a whoop as she planted her feet back on the Earth, she handed him his stuff and Marco eagerly put on his hoodie and shrugged on his backpack. Star itched to get back to reading but that was rude at the moment, she thought to herself, to just ignore him.

"Thank you!" He said happily, a smile on his lips.

Star returned his smile and nodded simply, "No problemo! Just keep your guard up when Janna's around, don't worry I'll give her a talk on stealing later." Star sat back down on the tree's bank and pulled out her comic book. She opened it back to the page she was at and stopped when she knew Marco hadn't left.

She eyed him and quirked an eyebrow, "What's wrong?" She said.

He raised his shoulders in a small shrug of some kind, "Nothing, it's just that…don't you get lonely? From what I've heard—"

"Marco, you shouldn't believe rumors." Star cut in.

Marco was quiet when a bell suddenly rang in the school. He turned around and looked at his phone, "Want to go get lunch?" He asked her.

Star's stomach growled and she thought about the school's food. Not good food obviously, but food was food in her opinion. She tucked her comic book away and stood up, dusting herself off.

"Sure."

She made a friend that day. A best friend that she would come to regret and yet not regret making.

It was a month later when alarms—like those that would show up on TV or on phones and would scare anyone—rang at two in the morning. Star was startled and bolted up from her bed, she sat up with wide eyes and big bed hair; she looked at her small phone on the other side of the room and made a note to make her way towards it. She hopped off her bed and grabbed it from its plug on the wall.

A big red message—a biohazard alert, to be exact—shone on its surface followed by a short description. **Brain Parasite Has Escaped Labs, Find Cover**

 _A parasite that has been rumored to turn rats into mindless corpses/slaves was being tested for a year running and was recently injected into the body of a human volunteer—to see what was the possibility of it entering the complex system of a human. Results went wrong, it seems to have become an evolved version of toxoplasmosa. Seek cover from this immediately as we find a cure._

Star's breath was labored and she felt faint. She didn't feel ready or determined, she didn't feel like she could kick ass easily without breaking a sweat.

She felt like a scared little girl who was home alone. Her parents had gone on a business trip and she was alone during a possible apocalypse that she had been preparing for. Turned out, she was not ready.

She did the only thing she could think of and called Marco.

She sat down on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chest, "Pick up, pick up, pick up." She whispered, the dark walls in her room seeming bigger and threatening, they leered at her.

"Star!" He picked up and his voice was normal and worried.

He was okay.

Star was scared and she knew it showed, "M-Marco did you hear?" She said.

"Y-yeah, stay where you are okay?" He pressured, clearly not wanting her going out.

Star shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her, "N-no, I'll be over in a sec. M-my parents aren't home and I'm scared. We're really close. Don't worry." Marco said something about it being a bad idea but Star hung up.

She looked around her room and gathered several items. She grabbed a pair of flashlights, an old first aid kit from the bathroom drawers, some snacks, water, comic books, an extra sweater. The necessary essentials.

She quickly undressed from her pajamas and put on a pair of jeans and pink hoodie, she slipped on her shoes and slung her backpack over her shoulders. She pocketed her phone and was soon out her house and in the streets. It was oddly still and quiet, with the exception of the distant alarms.

Star breathed in, "It's okay, Star. The parasite just got out, what're the chances you'll instantly get infected?" She told herself, trying to calm her racing heart.

She walked about, her sneakers' steps echoing down the streets.

She hoped her parents were okay.

 _Step, step, step._

The moon was up in the sky still, but it wasn't comforting or calming. It was eerie and creepy.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and made her jump slightly. She grabbed her phone and looked at the new message shining in red.

 **Parasite Becomes Stronger, Please Do Not Go Outside**

 _The Parasite has been proven to be difficult in containing and seems to be spreading. Though, it is nothing to worry about, experts say. It's almost like a common cold. Don't panic, government employees have it all under control._

Star bit her lip and put her phone away. She hurried down the streets and eventually was at Marco's door, she knocked quietly and it swung open. Marco answered and pulled her inside with a hug, "Don't you dare do that again." His muffled voice said as he embraced her.

Star parted from the hug and wrung her hands. "Marco, an apocalypse—"

"I-I know…" He said.

Star was quiet.

"What do we do?" She said, eyebrows wrinkled.

"I don't know. How is this even spreading?" Marco asked, his face contorted in concern.

Star shrugged and looked at her phone as she brought it back out, "I don't know. We all don't know—AHH!" Star screamed and stumbled backwards as something pounded the backdoor in Marco's kitchen.

Marco looked at the door, "It must be my dad, he went out to check on the shed's emergency supplies. Mom's visiting family." He was tense as he inched toward the door, alarms blaring from all electronic devices in the house.

Star followed him, wishing she had something to defend themselves.

Marco opened the door and surely enough his dad walked inside with a huge grin that unnerved Star for some reason.

"Oh, Star! It is so nice to see you again!" His eyes were vacant and the smile wasn't all there. She suddenly knew, in her heart, what was wrong.

Star grabbed Marco's arm and squeezed it tight, "He—he's infected, I can feel it…" How she felt it in her core, like some sort of sixth feeling was beyond her. But she felt it.

Marco's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights, "But, he's my dad!"

Star turned to him as Rafael sat down suddenly, groaning, "Anyone can change, Marco. Even our closest friends and family." She said, her voice and hands trembling.

Marco jerked his head and Star knew he was stubborn, "You're being ridiculous. You're okay, right, dad?" Marco reached for him, his hand inches away from touching his shoulder when Rafael suddenly screamed and sharply looked up. His eyes were white and dead, a trickle of blood poured from the side of his head.

A smile graced his lips but the emptiness of it didn't earn it the term of a smile.

Marco tugged his hand back, horror on his expression. "D-dad…? No, no. Y-you're okay, we have a first aid kit. W-we'll patch you up." He said quickly, as if trying to reassure himself more that his father was fine and well and okay.

Marco went to the kitchen's drawers and pulled them open, he dug through them like a madman.

Star approached him attentively, "Marco, w-we…" What was she going to say? "We have to l-leave." Great, he's definitely going to agree, Star.

Marco glared at the drawers and didn't bother looking up to face her, "He's my dad, Star." He growled.

"Yeah, but—"

"I can't leave him."

"Marco—"

"Just because you don't have the best relationship with your parents and you could care less about them doesn't mean the same for me." He hissed, distressed and angry.

"MARCO!" Marco finally gazed at her with tearful eyes. Star felt horrible at what she needed them to do. "We have to leave him behind, M-Marco. Look at him, I think…I think your dad's not here anymore." She said sadly.

They looked at Rafael who had more trickles of blood coming from his head, his face was whitening into a deadly shade of paleness. It was as if he was dead and the color of his skin was fading. He was breathing heavily and twitching and convulsing.

Marco said nothing but stared.

"Marco," Star whispered gently, "W-we have to go."

Marco walked over to his dad and bowed his head. "…Okay…" He said, almost mutely at how quiet it was.

And they did.

A note was stuck to the front door with Marco's signature, it was like their last trace.

 _I'm sorry mom, Star and I left but I love you and dad. I always will. I'm so sorry. We didn't want this but I couldn't do anything to dad, the best option was to leave. I'm sorry, I'm sorry._

The handwriting was wobbly as if Marco's hand had been shaking when he was writing, a couple of tear stains were on the paper's surface, blurring the letters and the signature.

 _Marco Diaz, your son._

 _P.S. I'll always remember you guys_


	2. Chapter One: You Think She’s Okay?

**_A/N: I hope it's been a fantastic weekend for you all and nice start into March! If not, I am sending you love and hugs! I hope everything cheers up soon, buddy!_**

 ** _So, what do you guys think of the recent episodes? Personally, they have me at the edge of my seat and I just...ugh! I just, I'm in love with the new episodes! Heh, I know you guys didn't come to hear me ramble about the episodes so I'll just cut to the chase and get ready for the newest chapter!_**

 ** _SuicideGuy: Thank you! I PM'd you to clear up any confusion but I'll say it here to just in case: those were my own personal notes and I forgot to take them off when going through my last round of editing. Sorry for that! It was a mistake on my part, sorry for the confusion, buddy!_**

 _Regigimass: **Oh! Thank you for the long review, I loved it! But, yes, the idea of Star having stickers on her cheeks came from my own childhood, heh. I used to wear some on my cheeks all the time, I thought they were fun to have. Thought it fit into Star's odd character and it did! I'm absolutely relieved I managed to capture those parts in Star well, too! Yes, I also think the prologue seemed a bit** too **rushed but it was supposed to have that feeling overall. I think I may have overdone it however and I'll try my best to slow down, don't worry. Thank you for the critique! I hope you stick around!**_

 ** _OzymandiasMusic: Thank you! The next chapter has arrived!_**

 ** _And how! Into the story!_**

 _"Dude," Star suddenly said, stalking down the school's hallways with a furtive face—as determined as she was, that didn't stop the anxiety from crawling down her throat like a spider with too-gangly legs. Creepy but accurate; she hated confrontations. She avoided anyone who stared dumbly or snickered behind their hands and just marched up to Janna with her fists landing a spot on either side of her hips, "what the heck?!" She wasn't wasting any time, she was going to talk to her—that Marco boy was so nice and the least she could do was talk to Janna for him._

 _He obviously wasn't going to do it himself._

 _It was after-school and it was the best time to corner Janna, she was usually pretty slow after school—and most kids were leaving anyway, it gave them some nice privacy._

 _Janna idly picked out books from her locker and didn't bother sparing Star a single glance as she put them inside her backpack—more like dropped them in, really. Star folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, almost looking like the bunny from Bambi, what's-his-face._

 _Janna finally turned and shouldered her backpack, "Yes?" She asked, a small smile on her lips, as if she enjoyed keeping her waiting._

 _Star squinted and pointed a finger at her, almost poking her chest, "You scoundrel! Why'd you take Marco's stuff? I had to climb a freakin' tree for him so he wouldn't loose his sh—cool!" She ranted, cautiously censuring herself._

 _Janna rolled her eyes skyward, finding her amusing, "You mean his shit?" Star cringed but Janna ignored her, "Look, Marco's just fun to mess with, I didn't know you had a thing for him though." She said, slamming her locker shut and lazily putting the lock in place._

 _Star blinked—her long eyelashes fluttered—, slowly processing what Janna had said, and wrinkled her nose, "I don't have a thing for him or whatever, I was helping him! He looked so helpless it was just...sad." She said, remembering Marco's torn face as his had gaze settled on the large tree where his precious hoodie and backpack had hung, waving like a flag in the wind._

 _Janna chuckled good-naturely and threw an arm around Star's shoulders, squeezing her lightly, "Right. You don't have a thing for him mostly because you have a thing for me." She teased cheekily, 'booping' her nose._

 _Star snorted like a small pig and playfully pushed her away, "I don't have a thing for you either." She said, smirking, they always joked around like this._

 _Janna faked a wince and rubbed the spot where her heart was, "Ooh, ouch. You're bound to eventually develop feelings for me, Star. Everybody has a thing for old Janna Ordonia. Just ask Marco." She said confidently, chest puffing up._

 _Star laughed and tried to focus again—on the reason why she was there in the first place, "Okay, okay, but you seriously need to lay off him a bit. You're gonna make him get anxiety with your Janna-ness." She wiggled her fingers and made a face, eyes narrowing slightly as if to demonstrate a point that completely went over Janna's head._

 _"Okay." Janna nodded._

 _Star perked up, "You got it?"_

 _"Not really. I don't know why you're defending the dork so much. What's up with that?" She asked unsurely and began walking away, hands in her skirt's pockets, Star trailed after her with a tiny shrug._

 _"He was really nice to me when I was reading earlier. He even ate lunch with me! So I thought, hey why not talk to Janna as a favor for him? And here I am." She said and she suddenly put her hand on Janna's shoulder. "So I'm asking you to not bother him as much. Please?"_

 _Janna paused and stared at her, eyebrow quirked suspiciously._

 _Star made a disgruntled noise when Janna's brown eyes didn't leave her face and smiled in an attempt to convince her._

 _"You're weird, Butterfly." Janna said and kept walking, steps echoing down the hallway._

 _"So you won't bother him as much?" Star asked to make sure as she caught up with her, eyes brimming with hope in a tear-like way._

 _"Yeah, yeah, I'll lay off him a bit._ Oof _!" Janna stumbled forward as Star attacked her from behind with a hug, her arms wrapped around her waist._

 _"Yay! Marco's gonna be so happy when he hears this!" Star squealed, snuggling into the hug eagerly like an over enthusiastic puppy._

 _Janna awkwardly patted her head, face red—her hand resting on Star's blonde head, "I...don't think Diaz deserves a friend like you, Star." She said as she parted from the hug, recomposing herself._

 _Star scoffed and waved her claim off as if swatting a fly away, they passed by students talking to each other and didn't give them a second glance, "That's ridiculous. Who determines whether or not we deserve a friend? A friend is a friend and there's no deserving or whatever involved." She punctuated as they exited the school, the front doors clapped behind them._

 _Janna stopped in her steps and pulled out her phone to check on something, "I'm just saying, if something happens between him and you don't come crawling back to me. Of course, I'll still comfort you and kick the living crap out of Diaz but I'm just saying." She said while typing something unknown to Star into her phone, her thumbs smashing against the screen._

 _Star frowned at her but didn't say anything._

 _Janna glanced up and pocketed her phone, "So what bus are we taking to Britta's Tacos?"_

 _"The 3:30 one. It's almost here I think." Star said, dumping her hands into her hoodie's pocket, the two walked over to the nearest bus stop._

 _Janna hummed in contempt, "Good, because I am craving some chilaquiles—"_

 _"Star!" Marco's pubescent voice—out of nowhere—cut in and interrupted Janna from afar, it looked like._

 _Star shot Janna an apologetic look and waved Marco over, grinning toothily. He was jogging over from the school's entrance._

 _Janna grabbed Star's arm quickly, "What's he doing here?" She whispered, eyebrows up._

 _Star was sheepish, "…I wanted you two to rekindle as friends?"_

 _Janna gritted her teeth and an intense glare flared in her eyes. "I said I would lay off him a bit not that I wanted to be BFFs with him!"_

 _Star pouted cutely and folded her hands under her chin, "Oh please, Janna! I know I didn't mention it but it'll be a fun lunch! I promise."_

 _Janna looked unconvinced._

 _Marco was close to them, only a handful of feet away from them._

 _"Please, Janna! Do it for me?" Star smiled innocently and Janna groaned, rubbing her hand over her face._

 _"I'm doing too many things for you." She grumbled and looked up as Marco stood next to them. She tilted her chin up slightly with half-lidded eyes, "'Sup, Diaz."_

 _Marco was clearly uncomfortable and opted to standing by Star instead._

 _"Star, I thought you said it was going to be just you and me." Marco quietly spoke to Star, lips barely moving._

 _Star smiled, as if there was nothing wrong with the world, "I lied. Nothing too big, don't worry. Plus, she'll be nice this time."_

 _Marco eyed Janna worriedly, looking at her as if she was a mass criminal, ready to pounce at any given moment and glanced back at Star with a wrinkled forehead. "You tricked both of us." He said, his realization obvious._

 _Star only kept her eyes forehead with a hint of a smile tugging at her lips' corners._

 _The bus came barreling down the street and opened its doors to the three. Star excitedly ushered them forward, beaming like a ray of sunshine._

My two friends are going to become friends!

More or less.

 ** _Present Time. Echo Creek. 22:10, November 10._**

Her boots thumped and her head was bowed, she picked at the strings from her hoodie.

Marco was in front of her with a baseball bat in his hands—they had taken it when they had found an abandoned supermarket, Star had suggested they steal some stuff much to Marco's horror—a steely look was in his eyes, as if he was trying to look tough.

Star rubbed her hands over her arms and glanced at the sky, the clouds were stubbornly dark and big with no signs of leaving. Within the last week and a half, the weather had been nothing short of crappy—the infection had clearly affected more than the people. Star still wasn't sure how the whole mess had started, she just knew that the toxoplasmosis disease has broken out of testing labs.

How was beyond her.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night when her thoughts and memories haunted her—she considered the idea that the "accident" had happened on purpose. However, Marco always brought the concept down whenever she asked for his opinion. He berated her, saying that their own government would never harm their people like that.

Star was sure he was wrong, one-hundred percent certain actually, but she didn't like getting into arguments with the boy, so she usually dropped the subject before it got out of hand.

"Hey, Marco," Star suddenly said, breaking the silence, eyebrows crinkling, "do you think Janna is okay?"

Marco didn't answer for a while and stopped to enter an alley to their left, he picked up a box reclining near a large dumpster and looked inside. He found doughnuts of many flavors and gazed at it thoughtfully.

"Marco?" Star asked again, stepping next to him.

"Maybe." He murmured, brow furrowed.

"What?"

He looked to her and put the box under his armpit for the meantime, "Can you open my backpack?"

Star opened it and Marco handed her the box, she slipped it inside and zipped it close again.

Marco opened the dumpster's lid and looked around, skimming the garbage for anything that they could use potentially.

Star watched him and the silence was deafening, "Do you think she's alive?" She asked again, tentatively.

Marco pulled out a long, heavy stick and swung it around, testing it out, "I think so. I mean, we're alive and we have cero skills. I'm sure she's still out there somewhere." He hit the stick against the palm of his hand and gave it to Star who draped it over her shoulder.

"...guess so." Star said, walking out of the alley with Marco leading. She wasn't satisfied with the answer but it was the best thing she could get out of him. When Marco was anxious, sometimes it was best not to prod answers out of him.

They passed by stores with broken windows and one with broken electronics and TVs, they were all buzzing with that scrambled noise that one would expect from inside a creepy room in a horror movie. A lot of garbage spilled over the streets and occasionally they would see traces of blood dried and stuck to the ground.

"People really lost it." Marco said with a pained expression, swallowing hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Star's breath labored as her eyes landed on a body hidden under a car, blood pooled around it.

She gulped, her throat suddenly dry, "Y-yeah…they really did…"

Marco followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at and gently grabbed her arm, "Come on," he said gingerly, "let's keep looking for food, and hey! We might even find a permanent shelter. Or at least one that'll last us more than two days." He had a weak smile on his lips, one that curved them hopefully.

Star gazed straight at him—and sluggishly tipped her head forward in a little nod.

They walked away in tandem but Star couldn't help glancing back at the body and wonder if her friends were safe. She didn't have many friends but she worried for those that she did have; she even wondered if that Tom boy and Jackie girl were fine.

 _Was anyone okay?_

Star turned a corner and wrapped her arms around herself.

Marco told her to hurry up her pace as moaning came in the form of weak waves from behind them, "They could be here." He told her, eyes scared, clearly not ready to face them again.

She knew who "they" were.

 _The Infected._

Star nodded, not missing a beat, and put her hoodie up, hurrying as Marco muttered under his breath consistently, his face stony—Star was sure he was remembering last time they saw the Infected.

The clouds above them danced and waltzed with blackness and electricity. Rain fell down on them and pelted their heads, swerving down their faces like tears.

 ** _A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! And before signing off, I truly want to thank you all for the overwhelming love this AU received. Thank you! From the bottom of my heart, really. I hope you all have a good day/night!_**

 ** _Next Chapter Coming Soon_**


	3. Chapter Two: Look, a house!

**_A/N: Happy spring everyone! *throws rose petals around and accidentally stabs self in the eye with them* AHH! _**

**_Uh. Anyway! It's been a while, huh? I'm in the process of writing original works and other fanfics so I am SUPER sorry for any late updates! Here's an update for this lil' AU though!_**

 ** _Sugar: That's very true! There's something about being in a world of weird mutated creatures that connects you to your friend!_**

 ** _Kalsar Spartan: Thank you! :D I hope you stick around, buddy!_**

 ** _allen Vth: Maaaaaaaaaybe??_**

 ** _PhoenixVersion1: Every so often there's some flashbacks in certain chapters to build up on the characters' past or relationships. But, yes! There will be a lot of present day narrative, don't worry!_**

 ** _Here's the next chapter!_**

 _ **Present Time. Echo Creek City. November 17. 10:39.**_

Okay, they were running. Their feet simultaneously slammed against the ground and their hearts each thumped heavily—they were almost at their throats— as sweat ran from their brow down the side of their faces. Star gasped for air as she stopped and scanned the area, spotting something she ran up to it and jumped up a car that lay on its side. She climbed and swung her body up and pulled Marco beside her with a grunt, they both panted and stood up on the car.

Above them, the sky was bright and wonderful and the sun was like a beacon licking their face, its rays glinted off of their sweat. They squinted at the horde of Infected creatures sprinting toward them with falling scalps and glowing eyeballs.

"We can't stay here forever, Star." Marco said suddenly, sharply turning to her with a panicked expression.

Star frowned and studied the Infected, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "We, um, we need a…distraction! That's it! Yes, a distraction." She punched her fist in the palm of her hand, clearly proud of her thinking.

Marco nodded, agreeing to her idea, "Okay. Okay. Do you have anything that could help us distract them? They're coming closer." He eyed the Infected which weren't that far off now, he could see into the depths of their eyes.

Star gnawed on her fingernail which was already painfully bit down and suddenly lit up as she grabbed her backpack and put it down between her feet. She pulled out a stuffed pony toy and piece of raw meat. She pushed them into Marco's hands and ripped the hair tie from her ponytail off, she tied the meat and toy together and threw it a couple times in the air.

Marco watched her curiously, "How long have you had that meat in there?" He asked, pointing to it.

"Long enough."

"Why—?"

"Marco, we're in an apocalyptic world and you're seriously asking why I have spare meat in my backpack that is not to mention full of supplies?"

Marco shut his mouth and turned back to the Infected, "Fair enough."

Star closed one eye, stuck her tongue out and threw the toy-wrapped-in-meat way back, back, back. The Infected paused and turned to the direction of it, all screaming and pushing one another hungrily. The kids stared for a moment, making sure they were gone and both let a collective breath of relief out.

Star flashed Marco a big grin, "Boom! Told you it would work."

"...you didn't say that. You just randomly started making the distraction without really telling me anything." Marco explained as he turned and cautiously began climbing down the car's side.

Star rolled her eyes skyward and jumped down, landing on her feet, "C'mon Diaz, hurry up, we don't have all day." She said, watching him finally reach the ground and dust himself off.

"We're not all reckless enough to jump off high places." Marco said pointedly, walking away with Star following behind, "I actually want to be alive for when this all ends."

Star looked back at the Infected gathered around the meat and toy, gruesomely killing each other for a small scrap of it. "If it ends." She murmured, wincing.

Marco heard her despite her quiet tone, "It will. Don't worry, Star." He said firmly, sure of his belief. Star groaned internally, she really hated how stubborn he was; yeah, she liked to keep hope too that her friends were alive and that everything would be okay but Marco didn't seem to understand that sometimes things weren't okay. They never go back to being okay. Marco didn't get that. She did. And she wished he would get it too.

Star sighed and shouldered her backpack into a better position on her back. A silence passed between them as Star gazed at the sky, clouds drifted by without a care in the world and the sun was too bright for a day like today. It seemed like it was taunting them for how horrible things were.

Star looked down at her feet while she walked and jumped over any garbage leftover on the ground, she would try and ignore coats of dry blood and scratch marks whenever they came up.

It really scared her when she saw things like that, actually. To think what the city was like when the whole disaster came down; she tried imagining screaming mothers holding their children close as they desperately scouted for their husbands. Kind souls that tried to help others, being tackled down by the Infected and having their tongues and head ripped off.

She saw soldiers that were instructed to shoot down the Infected only to shoot down healthy people that only wanted to be safe. She tried imaging all of that and she hated it.

She could almost hear their voices in her head.

" _Mommy? Mommy! MOMMY!"_

 _"N-no, help me, please. My wife—what're you doing? Don't kill me, p-please. I need to help h—"_

 _"MAX? BOY, WHERE ARE YOU?"_

 _"I'm sorry sweetie but you have t-to leave momma behind."_

 _"...I'm scared…"_

Star balled her hands and gripped the sides of her head. The voices were too real and it felt like someone was twisting a knife in her gut, they were overwhelming her with something horrible. She was always aware she had an overactive imagination but this was different.

"Star, are you okay?"

Star paused and slowly looked at Marco who was gazing at her with concern written on his features. She instantly dropped her hands and smiled sweetly at him, "What? Me? Pssh. You know me, I'm totally cool! Just…uh, thinking how horrible it must've been here when the Infection had first, y'know, really gotten out." Marco followed her gaze to the dry blood and scratch marks, it looked like someone had been dragged against their will.

Marco repressed a shudder, "Yeah. We always say this but it was certainly…bad." He awkwardly said, something flashing behind his eyes that told Star he didn't want to talk about it really.

He turned away and put up his hoodie, he kept walking forward and Star slithered next to him, curiously. She eyed him thoughtfully and tapped her chin in a pattern, "Now it's my turn to ask. Are you okay?"

Marco was startled at the sound of her voice for some reason, it was as if he had fallen in his own train of thought, "What? Oh. Mmmm, I don't know."

Star's face dropped into a frown like a glove, "What's wrong?"

Marco was quiet as he kicked away a stray piece of wood from their path, "Each time you bring up the Night it Happened I just…think about them."

Star understood, "Your parents?" She said gently, she knew it was a sensitive topic.

He gave a stoic nod, his face hard, "I know…I _know_ we had to leave them behind but it still hurts." Marco's voice cracked toward the end and Star adverted her eyes to give him some space. However, she saw from the corner of her eye as he furiously wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

There went the uncomfortable silence again.

"...I know you don't like hearing this but it was for the best, Marco." Star tried weakly.

Marco shrugged numbly.

Their walk was synchronized and occasionally a bird would fly above them, hurriedly flapping its bony wings and carrying food in its contorted beak. Animals had changed too and as scary as that was, they tried ignoring it.

"They were pretty absent but I still loved them." Marco said, digging his hands into his pockets and Star knew he was referring to his parents.

"Oh. That's cool…" Star was horrible at holding conversations that involved mentioning their parents, she didn't have the best relationship with her own mom and dad so...it was awkward talking about them.

Marco suddenly looked at her and tilted his head slightly, "How was it for you growing up?" He asked.

Star pursed her lips, "Eh. It was pretty nice I guess. Nothing extraordinary."

Marco chuckled, "Nothing extraordinary? But you're Star Butterfly! Surely you used to, like, sky-dive as a kid."

Star smirked and pushed him slightly, "You're acting as if I'm this big, kickass princess." Something inside her burned lightly as soon as the sentence came tumbling out of her mouth, Star shook it off despite how painful it was. "As a kid, I liked playing pretend and reading, nothing too big, Diaz. Now quit putting me on a pedestal." She chastised him playfully, curving her lips upward.

Marco put his hands up in surrender, "All right, all right. You were boring growing up, got it." He smiled cheekily at her as she snorted and rolled her eyes up.

They fell silent again.

"Do you think your parents are okay?" Marco said, eyebrows butting.

Star didn't answer.

Star could tell Marco regretted asking her that, "Oh, I-I'm sorry! I didn't—"

"Marco, dude, _relaaaaax_. You don't have to apologize for bringing up my parents when I brought up yours. Plus, I'm sure they're fine." She consoled and Marco seemed to calm down. For now, at least.

Marco turned away from her again and walked forward, saying he was going to scout the area beyond for shelter or maybe even more food. He took his baseball bat out into his hands and went ahead.

Star watched him go and breathed out when he was gone, her facade falling. When Marco happened to bring up her parents a sick part of her hoped they wouldn't come back and it disgusted her.

 _Why would she think like that about her parents?_

Star hugged herself—she wrapped her arms around her stomach—and stopped walking altogether.

 _Moon politely folded her hands and crossed her legs as Star took a seat in front of her, she sunk deep into the chair and waited for her mother to talk._

 _"Star, I bet you're wondering why I brought you here." She said, eyebrow rising, as she gestured around her in-home office._

 _Star shrugged._

 _Moon's lips formed a thin line as she dug through her purse to retrieve her cellphone, "Today, I received a call from your school," she began, scrolling through her recent calls, "that told me you had gotten in trouble for, er, explaining in a rather rude manner, mind you, how your apocalyptic ideas were true." She stressed on the word rude, knowing it carried a lot of weight._

 _Star blinked and shrugged again._

 _Moon groaned, "Star, aren't you going to say anything to explain yourself?"_

 _Star shrugged._

 _Moon put down her phone and leaned forward, placing the palms of her hands on her desk, "Star, don't make me sign you up for therapy again. Don't make me put you in the hospital this time."_

 _Star glanced at her, eyes widening._

 _"I will not let my daughter frolic around while being mentally ill. It's an embarrassment enough to have you skipping through school spewing all of this garbage that comes from your strange brain." Moon rambled, her face distressed._

 _Star narrowed her eyes, "Are you saying I'm sick? That I'm sick and retarded?" It wasn't a surprise, she had heard her parents talking at night when they thought she was asleep._

 _Moon frowned, "Now, Star—"_

 _"No, mom," Star glared at her mother, face screwing up, "I love you too."_

Star squeezed her eyes shut and felt tears fighting to fall down her cheeks, it hurt her remembering. Her parents didn't accept her for who she was—Star sighed and looked up when Marco sprinted back to her with a grin.

"I found some new shelter, Star!" He excitedly said, eyes bright like a child on Christmas Eve. Star stood up straight and trailed after him as he brought her up to an abandoned, small house that seemed to be in good condition, surprisingly.

Star furrowed her eyebrows, "Is it safe?" They couldn't be too sure, the Infected could have an infestation in there for all they knew.

Marco nodded enthusiastically and gave a thumbs-up, "Checked inside and everything seems all right!"

Star turned back to the house and allowed a tiny smile, "So, this'll be our home."

Marco strode forward and opened the door—luckily it wasn't locked—"Yeah. _Home_."

 ** _A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! Don't forget to leave a review! I read every single one and love them dearly! Have a good night/day!_**

 ** _Next Update Coming Soon_**


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